Rig Veda 4.13.4: Mandala 4, Sukta 13, Mantra 4
Sukta 4.13
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Devata
- Sūrya
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Adbhuta (wonder)
वहिष्ठेभिर्विहरन्यासि तन्तुमवव्ययन्नसितं देव वस्म । दविध्वतो रश्मयः सूर्यस्य चर्मेवावाधुस्तमो अप्स्वन्तः ॥
vahiṣṭhébhir vi-háran yāsi tántum ava-vyáyan ásitaṃ deva vásma | davídhvato raśmáyaḥ sū́ryasya cármevāvā́dhus támo apsv àntaḥ ||
अत्यन्त शक्तिशाली वाहकों के साथ तुम अग्रसर होते हो, नीचे की ओर तन्तु बुनते हुए; हे देव-तेज, तुम काले आवरण को उतार फेंकते हो। सूर्य की किरणें, प्रहार करती और चीरती हुई, अन्धकार को वैसे ही नीचे ढकेल देती हैं जैसे चर्म उतार दिया जाए—अन्तःस्थ जलों में।
Word by Word
- वहि॑ष्ठेभिः
- with the most powerful/most bearing (means)Adjectiveपुं/नपुं, तृतीया, बहुवचनRole करणRoot वहिष्ठ (वह् ‘to carry’ + -इष्ठ superl.)
- वि॒हर॑न्
- moving about / rangingVerb (participle)वर्तमान कृदन्त (शतृ), प्रथमा, एकवचन, पुं (कर्तरि)Role कर्तृRoot √हृ (हर्) ‘to take/carry’ (vi- + √हृ) → विहरन्त्
- असि
- thou artVerbलट्, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot √अस् ‘to be’
- तन्तुम्
- the thread / filamentNounपुं, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot तन्तु
- अव॒व्यय॑न्
- weaving down / weavingVerb (participle)वर्तमान कृदन्त (शतृ), प्रथमा, एकवचन, पुं (कर्तरि)Role कर्तृRoot √वी (वय्/वे) ‘to weave’ (ava- + √वी) → अवव्ययन्त्
- असि॑तम्
- dark, blackAdjectiveपुं/नपुं, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot असित
- देव
- O godNoun (vocative)पुं, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot देव
- वस्म
- a covering/veilNounनपुं, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (Vedic form)Role कर्मRoot वस्मन्/वस्म (Vedic) ‘covering/garment; ash/dust’ (context: covering)
- दवि॑ध्वतः
- of (him/it) shaking/brandishingVerb (participle)वर्तमान कृदन्त, षष्ठी, एकवचन (gen.)Role सम्बन्धRoot √धू (धुनोति) ‘to shake’ with vi- → विदिध्वत् (intensive/iterative) ‘shaking violently’
- र॒श्मयः
- the raysNounपुं, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot रश्मि
- सूर्यस्य॑
- of the SunNounपुं, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्धRoot सूर्य
- चर्म
- a hide, skinNounनपुं, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole उपमान/कर्मRoot चर्मन्
- इव
- like, asIndeclinableउपमा-अव्ययRoot इव
- आवा॑धुः
- they covered/warded offVerbलिट्/लुङ् (Vedic perfect/aorist usage), तृतीयपुरुष, बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot √वध्/√वृध् (Vedic) ‘to cover/ward off; to smite’ with ā- → आवाधुः
- तमः
- darknessNounनपुं, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot तमस्
- अ॒प्सु
- in the watersNounस्त्री, सप्तमी, बहुवचनRole अधिकरणRoot अप् (pl. ‘waters’)
- अन्तः
- within, insideIndeclinable (adverb)अव्ययRole अधिकरण (भाव)Root अन्तर्/अन्तः
Sandhi Notes
- Resolved padapāṭha-style segmentation: वहिष्ठेभिः | विहरन् | असि | तन्तुम् | अवव्ययन् | असितम् | देव | वस्म । दविध्वतः | रश्मयः | सूर्यस्य | चर्म | इव | आवाधुः | तमः | अप्सु | अन्तः । Key sandhi: चर्मे॒व → चर्म + इव
- अ॒प्स्व१॒॑न्तः → अप्सु + अन्तः
- सूर्य॑स्य॒ चर्मे॒व → सूर्यस्य + चर्म + इव
The meaning
Outer meaning
With the most powerful bearers you move, weaving down the thread; O divine luminous one, you cast off the black covering. The rays of the Sun, striking, have driven the darkness down like a hide stripped off, into the inner waters.
Inner meaning
The solar power moves with its strongest carriers (forces of illumination), weaving the ‘thread’—the ordered linkage of consciousness through levels—down into manifestation. It throws off the dark cloak (asitaṃ vasma): the covering of ignorance. The rays actively cleave formations of obscurity and press them down into the ‘inner waters’—the subconscient depths—where they can be dissolved and transformed, not merely avoided.
Universal truth
Illumination works as a skilled weaver: it connects higher truth to embodied life and strips away ignorance. Darkness is not annihilated by denial but driven back to its roots to be purified.
Themes
Illumination, Unveiling/Removal of the covering, Cosmic order (Ṛta-thread), Inner alchemy of consciousness
The seer
Significance
Though the ascription is uncertain, the verse fits the Vāmadeva cluster’s sunrise-yoga: illumination descends and actively dislodges the covering, pushing obscurity back to its source for purification.
The deity
- Devata
- Sūrya (solar power; possibly Savitṛ nuance)
- Epithets
- देव (deva) luminous power, रश्मयः (raśmayaḥ) rays (as functional epithets)
- Related deities
- Savitṛ, Uṣas, Agni
Cosmic role
Solar rays sustain life, reveal forms, and uphold the visible order by dispelling darkness; as Savitṛ-aspect, the power also ‘weaves’ and impels manifestation.
Inner power
Descending illumination that connects planes (thread), strips ignorance (black covering), and penetrates subconscious darkness for transformation.
In ritual
Where it is used
Solar hymn usage in morning rites; recitation for removal of darkness/impurity and establishment of clarity.
वहि॑ष्ठेभिर्वि॒हर॑न्यासि॒ तन्तु॑मव॒व्यय॒न्नसि॑तं देव॒ वस्म॑ । दवि॑ध्वतो र॒श्मय॒: सूर्य॑स्य॒ चर्मे॒वावा॑धु॒स्तमो॑ अ॒प्स्व१॒॑न्तः ॥
वहि॑ष्टेभिः । वि॒ऽहर॑न् । या॒सि॒ । तन्तु॑म् । अ॒व॒ऽव्यय॑न् । असि॑तम् । दे॒व॒ । वस्म॑ । दवि॑ध्वतः । र॒श्मयः॑ । सूर्य॑स्य । चर्म॑ऽइव । अव॑ । अ॒धुः॒ । तमः॑ । अ॒प्ऽसु । अ॒न्तरिति॑ ॥
vahiṣṭebhiḥ | vi-haran | yāsi | tantum | ava-vyayan | asitam | deva | vasma | davidhvataḥ | raśmayaḥ | sūryasya | carma-iva | ava | adhuḥ | tamaḥ | ap-su | antariti
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4 × ~11
Kinetic and cutting; strong consonantal clusters support the ‘cleaving’ action (davidhvataḥ).
Produces a felt ‘stripping away’ and downward-clearing effect; good for inner purification sessions.
- वहिṣ्ठेभिः (vahiṣṭhebhir)
- Literal: with the strongest bearers. Symbolic: most potent supporting energies of illumination
- तन्तुम् (tantum)
- Literal: thread. Symbolic: continuity of consciousness; the connecting law/path woven through life
- अवव्ययन् (avavyayan)
- Literal: weaving downward, extending. Symbolic: bringing higher light down into mind-life-body
- असितं वस्म (asitaṃ vasma)
- Literal: black covering/garment. Symbolic: cloak of ignorance, inertia, and subconscious obscuration
- रश्मयः (raśmayaḥ)
- Literal: rays. Symbolic: multiple powers of knowledge and force proceeding from truth-consciousness
- दवि॑ध्वतः (davidhvataḥ)
- Literal: striking, cleaving. Symbolic: penetrative insight that breaks rigid formations
- चर्मेव (carmeva)
- Literal: like a hide. Symbolic: a removable sheath—ignorance is a covering, not essence
- तमः (tamaḥ)
- Literal: darkness. Symbolic: inconscience, confusion, resistance
- अप्सु अन्तः (apsv antaḥ)
- Literal: into the waters within. Symbolic: into the inner/subconscient depths where impressions reside
Solar/dawn-linked recitation in morning pressing contexts; generally applicable to invocations of illumination in Agniṣṭoma/Soma sequences (non-exclusive)
At sunrise; during purification intentions; before study or healing work.
Sunward recitation; optionally water offering (inner waters motif) and mental casting off of ‘black covering’.
A mantra for shadow-work: chant, then observe obscurity being pushed into awareness’s depths to be released—use journaling or breath-based release afterward.
Key roots: √vah ‘carry/convey’ → vahiṣṭha ‘most effective carrier’ (inner sense: strongest life-forces that can bear the Light). √vyā ‘weave/extend’ with ava- suggests a downward extension of an ordering ‘thread’ (tantu-), i.e., the descent of conscious order into lower strata. asita ‘black’ marks the obscuring sheath; vasman- as ‘covering/vesture’ fits the imagery of concealment. raśmi- (rays/reins) from √raś ‘to stretch’ indicates lines of force that both illuminate and govern. tamas from √tam ‘to be dark’ is the psychological obscurity; ap- ‘waters’ in RV often symbolize the inner, undifferentiated or subconscient domain where darkness is lodged until illumined.
Ṛta as ordering ‘thread’ (tantu) in manifestation, Light vs. Darkness (vidyā vs. avidyā), descent of consciousness into the subconscient (apsu antar)
The ‘thread’ is ṛta’s continuity—order woven from higher to lower; illumination restores the weave.
Darkness is a removable sheath; Satya reveals essence and strips coverings.
Weaving of manifestation: higher light descends, organizes, and clears the leftover obscurity into the waters of origin.
Integral transformation motif: descent of light into subconscient (apsu antaḥ) for purification (Aurobindonian resonance).
sunrise
Rays = thoughts of light/forces of knowledge; thread = continuity of awareness through daily life; hide = egoic/ignorant sheath; waters = subconscious storehouse.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The solar unveiling: the Sun’s rays actively ‘strip off’ or drive down darkness, like removing a hide. Mythically this belongs to the recurrent RV action where Light (Sūrya/Uṣas) releases what is concealed by Night; psychologically it is the descent of the illumined force that pushes obscurity into the lower waters (the subconscient) and restores Ṛta’s continuous thread.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- Several terms align with inherited Indo-European poetic diction: sūrya- relates to PIE *sóh₂wl̥ ‘sun’ (cf. Lat. sōl, Gk. hēlios via different developments). √yā ‘go’ reflects PIE *h₁ey- ‘to go’ (cf. Gk. eîmi ‘I go’). tamas ‘darkness’ corresponds to PIE *temH- ‘dark, gloomy’ (cf. Eng. ‘dim’ via Germanic *dimmaz, and other IE ‘dark’ formations). The stretched ‘rays’ (raśmi-) as lines of force echo an IE tendency to construe light as extended bonds/lines (also seen in ‘reins’ metaphors).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The seer addresses the luminous Power as an active worker in the inner field: the Devata does not merely appear in the sky but performs a precise operation—extending the ordering thread downward and removing the black vesture. The implied reciprocity is transformational: the human vessel offers attention and receptivity to the solar force; the solar force responds by reorganizing the inner waters and dislodging tamas, establishing conditions for Ṛta-consciousness.
Descent of light: bring clarity down into body and subconscious; strip the ‘black covering’ of tamas.
Sahasrara-to-Muladhara descent (thread woven downward)
Downward sweep breathing: inhale to crown imagining sun-ray; exhale slowly down the front channel into pelvic floor, releasing heaviness into ‘waters within’.
From surface clarity to embodied illumination; from hidden tamas to conscious purification.
Chant 3–9 times, then do a body scan. Wherever you feel dullness, imagine rays ‘cleaving’ and the dark sheath sliding off into a deep inner ocean where it dissolves. End with a brief resolve to act from the cleared thread of awareness.
Articulate consonant clusters clearly; keep a decisive udātta lift on ‘raśmayaḥ sūryasya’; let ‘carmeva’ fall slightly (svarita-like) to mimic stripping action.
Give ‘asitaṃ’ a darker timbre (without slowing), then brighten immediately on ‘raśmayaḥ’ to enact the removal of covering.
वहिṣ्ठेभिः (vahiṣṭhebhih): retroflex ‘ṣṭh’ carefully, विहरन् (viharan): light ‘h’, avoid ‘vi-hāran’ elongation, अवव्ययन् (avavyayan): keep ‘vy’ conjunct clean, रश्मयः (raśmayaḥ): palatal ‘ś’, not dental, चर्मेव (carmeva): ‘c’ as ‘ch’ in IAST? here ‘c’ unaspirated; keep ‘rme’ cluster smooth, अप्स्वन्तः (apsv antaḥ): ‘psv’ cluster gentle, do not add extra vowel
Bright, cutting clarity; slightly more force on ‘davidhvataḥ’ to convey cleaving.
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